Method of and apparatus for treating oil well streams



Och 1952 J. P. WALKER ETAL METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING OIL WELLSTREAMS Fi1ed Sept. 13, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet l JAY P. WALKER C LARENCE O. GLASGOW I I I (lZENTjORS BY M/MQZ ATTOR NEYS Oct. 21, 1952 J. P. WALKER ETAL 2,614,649

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING on. WELL STREAMS Filed Sept. 15, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet '2 2 3 T 28 22 zz 33 77 5 7 80 I 24 J 25 /5 Y B JAY P. WALKER CLARENCE O.GLASGOW D 74' /3 I INVENTORS.

87 5 g 36 BY ,ATTORNEYS J. P. WALKER ETAL Oct. 21, 1952 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING OIL WELL STREAMS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 15, 1950 JAY P. WALKER CLARENCE O. GLASGOW INVENTORS.

ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 21, 1952 2,614,649 I METHOD or AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING .oiL WELL STREAMS Jay Pu walkerand-Clarence 0. Glasgow, Tulsa, Okla assign'orsto National Tank Company, Tulsa, Okla, aoorporation of Nevada Application September 13, 1950:, Serial N 184,652

-36 Claims. (CL. 183-5217) '1 V 'Thisinvention relates to new and" useful im= provements' in'metho'ds of and apparatuses for treating oil well streams.

"This application is-filed as a continuation-inpart of our co-pendin application, Serial No.

628,1'64, filed'November 13,1945, now abandoned.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved method" of degassing and" dehydrating oil well streams "whichinclude; oil, "gas and'water and'wherein the oilmay be emulsified or'wherein, the oil may carry water in the'forin "of dispersed small "particles or droplets "of'water "suspended therein. In types ofoilwhich are'highly' viscous; "a portion of "such oilmay be emulsified, while in another portion the water maybe-in-sus pension and'so "dispersed in the oil thatit'will not settle out unlesstreated.

Gas being atrouble'some factor in" the treatment' of oil well streams, where dehydration is,

involved, it is highly desirable to degas thestrearn or flow at an early stage in the method. Agitati'o'nis the primemo'ver in the formation of e'mul sions and gas is an agitator. Gas'isf' also the cause of foaming which retards emulsionb'reaking; "Where a proportionate excessive volume of gas'iisoontained in the well stream, "it 'may be desirable to first pass the streamthrough an ordinary'oi'l and gasseparator'a'nd 'carry'ofi the exoess 'vo'lu e" of gas or lJ'hGIIIaJOlfpOI'tiOIl' thereof, before .practicing'themethod :hereinset forth. However, even after such separation, varying quantitiesofgas will remain in the stream "and thus, in the initial stages of the method it is highly advantageous to .degas said stream. It is therefore, an important object j of the invention to Iliberate'and carry off gas to remove. it as "a troublesome facton'but not to such an extent as tomateri'ally lowerthegravity of the ultimately recovered oil.

An important object of the invention is t provide an improved method and the means for car,- rying out the same,'wherein the influent stream is preheated to the'proper degree so that a requisite amount of gas is'rel'eased, prior tothe initial separation, whereby durin the initial separa tion step this released and other'free gas is sep'a rated and carried oil? from the "stream, which "reduces', if not substantially eliminates, foamingito the point where'the oil stream may be .subsequently handled'without impedance.

Another object of the invention istodischarge thewll stream into a body of liquids, which may be'fmore'or less warm and flow the components offthe stream upwardly through said body and also,'-obstructing '01 retarding S'uh fiOWt'O obtain any or all of the 'iollowingresul-tsz :tebrea up gas-oil-bodies or globules, whereby-gas is-release'd or liberatedand passes upwardly to the top of theliqu-id body and escapes through astr'a'tiiin of oil floating upon said body of liquids -ahd-also, whereby gas-oil bodies not broken upon reaching the top of said liquid body will bebrokenand additional gas liberated; totheend that th se sired volume of gas will be-liberated or carried oil and foaming is reduced to ain inimum -if not entirely eliminated; tomore or lessbrea-k down some of the emulsion; to cause coalescence-of the water particles or droplets, whereby larger or heavier water drops-are formed which readily precipitate from the oil as. free water; thereby entraining such precipitated waterwi-th the water flowing with the stream so that it" W 1* subsequently settle-out with the free-wateras such.

A furthe r object of the inventionistoo'ver flow, by volume, from the said body-of liquidsfithe entire liquid input of the Well streamf-rom"which, gas has been liberated andsubsequently settle-R out the free water atthe lower portion-ofthe unit:

By conducting the entire volume of liquid'u nput from the upper portion of theunit, after tl'ie'pre liminary treatment, certainadvantages are obtained. -I-n treaters where free water is separately carried off from the ,treater at the top-thereof, oil is likely to be carried out' 'by 'theWaterJparticula-rly where thewe'll stream is disch'argedbelow a filter or bafiles. Bytakin'g ofi all of the 1 water atthe bottom oft-he' unit,a'more economical structure is; had. More efficient 'defoamingj isj procured by ilberating the gas within the bodyoj liquidsinth'e upper chamber. By conducting an of the oil to the settling chamber and spreading the 011. therein, a more'elfective .dehyd'rati'onQstep is performed.

A very important object of the inventionljs' to trap and spread the liquids discharged intothe body of liquids maintained inthe lower portion of the unit, h q predominately water, particularly at the bottom 05, ,1 1 l 'h The liquids are discharged zinto aizonetor set i tling chamber which has; a} higher temperature than that of the bodyzof liquids at the-top of-the unit. Whlle a large portion of the-freewater discharged into the settling chamber will: readily settle to the .bottom of the chamber, by spread whereby ,both ftheliquidload andlthelneatload in the washing chamber may be materially reaucea';

Further, oil may be skimmed off the settling chamber which will be much cleaner and may be the cleanest oil, in that it will contain a lower percentage of water.

Still another object of the invention is to pro vide an improved method of dehydrating well streams containing contaminated oil and gas wherein the components of the well stream are discharged into a previously collected body of liquids and said components are caused to flow through said body and the flow interrupted, as

by bafiling or filtering, together with the steps of overflowing from said body a volume of liquids equal to the input volume thereof, settling out free water and washing the contaminated oil in a body of heated water, whereby a washing of the components in a relatively large area is accomplished which makes for a more uniform heat exchange and dispersion and more eficient liberation of gas from the foaming phase and thus ;the-well stream, being adequately degassed, such steps not only minimize foaming, but render the collected body of liquids more quiescent and prepare the overflowing liquids for an efiicient settling out of the free water at the bottom of thevessel. To these steps may be added a partijal dehydration of the oil flowing through the collected body of liquids as well as'the preheating of the components to aid in degassing and: dehydration. i

In summation, the prime object of the inventionis to provide a continuous dehydrating method wherein an oil-gas-water well stream is processed to liberate and carry oil gas, to some d gree coalesce water droplets, with or without breaking down some emulsion; then conducting all, of the input liquids by volume to a settling chamber containing a body of more or less warm liquids, predominately water, wherein free water is settledout and emulsified or contaminated oil is trapped and spread to precipitate additional free water; then the dehydrated oil isskimmed off and conducted through a heated washing step for further dehydration.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for carrying out the method and involving certain new and advantageous features which will be hereinafter pointed out.

'A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Fig. 1- is a vertical sectional view of a treater constructed in accordance with the invention,

Fig. 2 is a similar view taken at right angles to Fig. l,

Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal cross-sectional views taken on their respective lines in Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the treater,

Fig. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 7 is a partial vertical sectional view of a modified form of the invention,

Fig. 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the same, and

Fig. 9 is a partial vertical sectional view of still another form of the invention.

In the drawings, the numeral Hi designates an elongate upright metal tank, preferably having acrowned top It and a dished bottom i2 supported on an annular, flanged base ring [3. A gas extracting chamber A is formed at the top of the tank between the top i and a dished bottom or partition It, suitably secured to the inner annular surface of the tank. Immediately above the bottom i l, an inlet nozzle i5 is disposed transversely across the chamber, entering the tank through the side wall thereof and having a collar it on its outer end whereby it may be secured to an inlet pipe it. This inlet pipe is connected to a suitable preheating means hereinafter described. The underside of the nozzle may be slotted or provided with perforations as indicated in Fig. I.

In order to obtain wide dispersion and distribution of the influent, an inverted v-shaped baflie 26 is disposed longitudinally over the nozzle so as to cause the dispersed streams to flow under the divergent sides thereof in seeking an upward passage. The bafiie has its ends secured to the wall of the tank. At one side of the tank, an overflow partition 22 extends upwardly from the bottom id and upper and lower transverse angle bars 25 and 23 are secured to said partition, as well as to the wall of the tank. Between the bars El and 23, a suitable filter unit B is supported. This unit may comprise horizontal screens or foraminous members 24 with fibrous or filtering material 25 confined therebetween; such material being wood excelsior, fibrous material, or any other material suitable for the purpose. While the unit B is primarily a filter, the screens 2i and 23 constitute bafiies, particularly if the fibrous material is omitted. It will be observed that the partition 22 extends above the filter B so as to provide a stratifying space or area thereabove. The infiuent, upon entering the chamber A, is discharged from the nozzle 55 and fills the chamber up to the level of the upper edge of the partition 22, from which the liquids overflow into a fiume 26 between the partition and the wall of the tank. The partition, co -acting with the tank wall, forms a collection chamber 0.

It is pointed out that no provision is made for separately carrying ofi water from the chambers A or C and it is to be observed that all of the liquids received in the chamber are discharged over the partition 22, except those retained in the collection chamber C; thus the entire volume of input liquids is carried through the chamber C, once the same is filled. In order to clean the bottom i l and occasionally drain off sediment, a drain pipe 21 extends from the bottom l4 through the wall of the tank, and may be equipped with a suitable valve (not shown). It will be observed that the nozzle l5 extends substantially parallel with the partition 22 and thus, the fluid will be spread by the bafile .20 toward said partition, as well as toward the opposite side of the tank and then flow upwardly in dispersed order through the filter B. The purpose of the filter B is three-fold, it being understood that ordinary baffles (not shown) may be used in some instances. Filtering material, such as wood excelsior or its equivalent, is preferred because of its efficiency in breaking up oil-gas bodies or globules to liberate gas as well as in causing coalescence of dispersed droplets of water in suspension, whereby larger water bodies are formed which are heavy enough to precipitate and agglomerate with the free water; as distinguished from the oil. The purpose of filtering or obstructing the upward flow of the components of the well stream through the body of,

earners Innis-is 66; treat ent ainsastedes;eeaieses suspended water droplets; and with some y-pe of'oil'; to-partiallybreak down the emulsion, ar-- though such emulsiombreak ing may in some instances,- be of a low degree. 'Byliberating and carrying off the gas agitation is minimized, thus making the-body "of liquids in chamber "(3, more quiescent and reducing foaming to a negative point. "All at the liquids overflowfthepartition 2'2 and all 'gaswhi ch does not remain in solution" rises to the upper part of chamber A,- whereit isscrubbed 'for trained moisture. g

cylindrical gas scrubber -23 issuspe'h from'the'ceritral emen er the head 11', to-"vv-l-1i1 1- top 'I '1 and a' ba'ffie' 3'0'i's suspended' from the'top the scrub'ber below said pipe. "The 'scriib-' beers prov-idea with-a plurality"- er inletweeters 31,- as is bestshowh in Fig. whereb the nae s gas-sees streams ateeansea' to-whirl eithe purposeof extracting; eh-

travel circum ferentially in the scrubber. ""I--l'1e..

scrubber is provided with a hopper -bottoin- 3 2, which has a central drain pipe ite-depending th'iefr'biil and termin ting-at or hemwt e revel oithe partition 2-2, above the-filter B. Any li'qlli-iils extracted in the scrubber 28 are drained back into the liquids therebelow. Byithme'rsihg the drainpipe" '33, gas is induced to enter the diverters rather than to now up said drain'pip'e.

liquids consisting of contaminated or emulsified oil, nee water; and possibly some clean oil, overflow" the partition: 2-2, pass down the flumezs into a d'O'WIl' pincer edhdlietor '34-,Which'l has itsupper end eztending through "the bottom I Mn: fluid-tight contact therewith. The pipe 34 extends downwardly adjacent the wall of the, tanhand has its :lower end extending through a horizontal partition 35, in flu'idE-tight contact therewith. The "partition is spaced a substantial distance above the bottom t2 of th'e tan'kto form a precipitating'or 's'ettlingehamb'er' D. For removing sediment, a "pipe 36 extends' from near the bottom of said chamber through the wall of the tank. v I

It is the purpose to incorporate in the chamber D? suitable means for separating free water from the down-flowing liquids as-well as to spread'and ".baffie the emiilsified o'il' and'thereby give-tullopportnnityror"water tofprec'ipitate or free itself from 'the contaminated o'r emulsified GIL -whereby the scleanest'oil orpil containing a verse apron or skirt 3?. depends from the termi-' hating-"end of'th'e partition and has its ends secured to the tank 'well.

distance inwardly from the apron so as to extend sii'bstaii'tially parallel thereto and to underlie the partition. 7 p U 7 e' upp'e edge of the weirplate; is spaced a shtrt distance below the-partition, as for instance two inches, and the thicknessof the stratum 'of I ighsrafne or weir retest has its'ehds' secur'd t'o theta-ilk wall and is spaced a short i r iron es-er prie tes crane-platens thus determined. 'Ashortii-u "e or assage}: is thusformed-between the-apronand the plate. The weir plate-extends below the lowereage of w the apron, thus the oil flows over the-upper edge of the-weir plate, down the fiume 3'-9 and escapes under the-edge of the apron-which edge-may be serrated if desired'to divide the oil into-human ous small streams.

It will be seen that the pertinence, apron-'31 and plate 38 "forman; enclosure 01* hood, whereby the li ids are spread andstratified, Itishighly important; that the partition be imperforate 'so that the oil will be compelled to spread out -and flow across'thetank and not" escape before "suchspreading. As will be hereinafter describedr a' body o'f waterw'ill be contained-in the lower half of the tank -and"will extendwen above the"par-= tition 35. Heat being applied to this body-of water above said partition, there-will be a heat-- exchange ortransferthrough said partitionirom the heated water thereabove to the broadstratum of oil spread out under said partition; also, the: water for a-siibs'tantial distance below thepartition will at least lee-warm. v v

It is pointed out that bec'ause of the heat added tothe contaminated oil restrained under the par-- tition 35, such oil Nil-1110f: only releasewaterem trained therewith, but the emulsion willbe more or less broken down whereby apercentage of waterwill be precipitated, according tothe enar-= acter of the contaminated oil or emiilsionand the temperatures involved. Obviously, the greae er the percentage of water which isseparated from the oil priorto the heating step, ithe less liquid remains to be heated and consequently the heat load is materially reduced- While the partition 35', apron 37 and plate 3 8' will be ample to treat certaintypes of emulsion, it may be desirable to employ additional bafiling and spreading means in some instances. -Adjacent the level of the loweredgeof the plate- 38, an intermediate horizontal partition 40- is provided, which extends from' the tank on the downpipe side across the tank to within a s'hortdistance of said plate. Above the partitionjfi', a washing chamber E is defined by vertical plates 41 and 42, respectively.- The plate 4| terminates just above the partition 35', while the plate-"42 extends down into the settling chamber- D- and is spaced from the apron 31', substantially parallel relation thereto to form a passagett'.

The upper'portion of the skirt 3! and the plate' 38 constitutemeans for segregating contaminated oil below the partition 35 and precipitating water therefrom; while the flume 39 and passage 13 are means for taking off the cleanest oil" below the partition and delivering it to the washing chamber.

Spaced below the partition 40 is a horizontal bottom partition 44 which extends from the inner side of the depending plate 42 across the tank toward the down-pipe side, thus thepartitions 40 and 44 are disposed in staggered relation; The

edges of these partitions ma be supported by transverse angle members 45 which act as m'ers. I Free water, as such, when discharged nom the down pipe 3 5 will immediately seek to settle to the bottom of the tank, flowing along thepartition 4e, down onto the partition 4 thence in a reverse direction along the partition 4-4 and then to the bottom of the tank. All'precipitated water will collect upon these'partition's and flow" with the free water along sai-d' partitior'rs.

some of the water flowing Withthe' free'water may have oil entrained therewith and such oil will rise and stratify under the partitions Ail and 44, because of the skimming members as. To conduct this oil upwardly in a segregated path. a tubular riser 36 extends from the partition 44 upwardly so as to discharge oil immediately under the partition it. A laterally ofiset riser 47 extends from the partition it and terminates immediately under the partition 35.

Manifestly, the liquids confined under the partition 35 by the plate 38 and apron 37 will vary in their oil-to-water ratios and will stratify accordingly. The stratum restrained between the upper edge of the plate 38 and the partition 35 will have a higher ratio of oil-to-water than the strata therebelow, thus the cleanest oil or oil having the least percentage of water emulsified therewith, will fiow into the flume and escape into the passage 53. As the oil rises from one stratum or zone to the next stratum or zone under the partition 35. more and more water will be precipitated or. caused to settle out.

A horizontal bafile 38 spaced above the partition 35 extends inwardly from the plate 12 to the central portion or the chamber E. A transverse angle member it supports the inner edge of the bafiieand its depending leg may be provided with spaced perforations st, to form a spreader for breaking the emulsion stream flowing along the under side of the bafile, into multiplicity of small streams. The plates fill and ll! which define the washing chamber E have their edges secured to the tank wall, whereby channels or passages are formed between the plates and the tank Wall;

The down pipe B l extends through one of these channels. It will be observed that the plate ll terminates just above the partition 35 so that return liquids flowing down its channel will enter the bottom of the washing chamber; liquids fiowing in the channel of plate 52 will be discharged into the lower portion of the settling chamber D. Within the lower portion of the chamber E, a return heater tube E2 is inserted through a manway' 53 in the side wall of the tank and may receive a suitable burner in its lower leg; such tubes being common in this art. It will be observed that the spreader 49 is disposed under the heater tube longitudinally thereof so as to cause the upwardly flowing streams from the spreader to engage the bottom of the tube and fiow upwardly on each side thereof, whereby such streams are heated and also whereby, the body of liquid contained in the chamber is maintained at a desired temperature.

Immediately above the tube a transverse partition 54 is secured between the plates l! and 42 and has one end extending to the wall of the tank and its opposite end terminating short of the opposite tank wall to provide a flow opening or passage 55 adjacent the manway 53. A short distance above the partition 54, a plate ES ex tends across the tank between the vertical plates. This'partition and the plate 56 define a preheating chamber F. At the end of this chamber, opposite the flow opening 55, a inanway at is provided for receiving the inlet leg 58 and the outlet leg 59 of a preheating coil 65) mounted in the chamber F. A suitable outside, horizontal heat exchanger or preheater 8G is mounted at one side of the base of the tank and an emulsion inlet pipe 81 leads to the end of said preheater. The inlet leg 58 is connected with the preheater 86 by an inlet pipe 88. The outlet leg 59 of the preheater is connected with the inlet pipe-l8.-- Where a lesser amount of preheating is found expedient the outside preheater 86 maybe cut out and instead the infiuent may be delivered to the pipe 88 by way of an infiuent pipe 39 having a valve which is out off when the outside preheater is used. A valve 9!, in the pipe S8, is cut off when the outside preheater is not used.

While it is highly desirable with certain types of oil to employ the coil iii? in the preheating chamber, the same can be omitted, and the inlet line It connected to any suitable preheater or directly to a well line, and preheating thus omitted. By employing the preheating chamber F and the coil 56, much more efilcient preheating may be accomplished, because of heat exchange with the liquids contained in said chamber. The chamber being immediately above the heatertube 52 and being immersed in the washing water, it is obvious that a high degree of heat may be imparted to the liquids surrounding the coil; such liquids being predominantly water,

although emulsified oil streams pass upwardly through said chamber.

The washing chamber has a horizontal plate 6% at its top, which has its longitudinal side edges secured to the upper ends of the plates ti and 42 so as to extend therebetween, and its end portions are secured to the tank wall, thus leaving the upper ends of the channels bl open, as is indicated in Fig. 1. The plates 55 and 6! coacting with the plates ti and i2 and the tank walls define a filtering section G, which may be filled with wood excelsior, fibrous material, or any other material suitable for the purpose. Spaced apart inthe section G are a pair of hori-, zontal partitions G2 and 63. The plate 3:3 terminates short of the tank wall and has a deep depending flange t l. These plates are provided with perforations b5, 6%, 5? and 88, respectively, at their opposite ends, whereby the heated emul- Slfied oil is caused to flow upwardly from the opening 55 across the preheating chamber and back and forth through the filtering chamber G, before the washed oil can escape into an oil col-' lecting chamber .l-l located between the plate ti and the bottom 1! i.

The purpose of the filter chamber is to break up the oil globules and to break down the emul-i sion. By the alternate disposition of the perforations and the inter-positioning of the partitions t2 and t3, the oil is caused to take a circuitous path through the filtering material and by'the time the oil is discharged through the perforations 68, substantially all water will have been extracted, and the emulsion broken so that'substantially clean oil will be collected in the chamber H and skimmed off from a box 59 surrounding an oil outlet Hi. This box determines the oil level. If the filtering material is of an absorbent nature, some of the water will be absorbed as it is released in the chamber G and such material must be replaced from time to time. Suitable manways M are usually provided for this purpose.

A quantity of water will be extracted from the oil in the chamber G and such water will drain to the plates 63, b2 and 56. A drain pipe ll extends from one end of the plate 53 to a point just above the plate -56. The filtering material is excluded from entering this pipe by a screen 72 placed over the upper end thereof. A pair of drain pipes 13 extend from the plate 56 downwardly on each side of the coil $59 and terminate just above the tition 54.

Dar-

i a i s view of the; fact that the. channels 5| are QQ ll iguOuS to the, wall of the tank, there W111 be a, tendency for any water flowing down such channels tocpol to some extent. Some of this downwardly conducted water will fiow under the lower edge of the plate 4! and into the'washing chamber E, whereby its temperature will be raised Q and the upward flow which results will set up a thermosiphonic circulation. Some of the downwardly flowing water will pass directly into the settling chamber. It is pointed out that the tank being filled with liquid up to the level of the skimming box 69, the flow of liquids will be in the nature .Of currents and their flow will be somewhat controlledby their" relativetemperatures.

Forconducting extracted water from the tank, a water i a e pip i xt ds fr m a poi t Justfabove the bottom I; upwardly through the risi trhand channel 5: (Fig. 1) on the OPDQ ite sid from the pipe 34. The upper end of the pipe 7 is c osed, and an elbow leads h u h h side wall of the tank to the bottom of a siphon bnx" which is in common use in the art, being clearly shown in Letters Patent of Jay 1?. Walker, No, 2,297,297, issued September 29, .9

hs beiore stated, the preheating chamber F and sel 5.0 may be Omitted and. the n ue t e u io pr h ated man table man er r no ehe ted at l he coil as ha he ad n a of bei close to the heater 52, but it could be located in the hot oil collecting chamber H. While it is preferable to introduce the infiuent through the nozzle l5, an inlet ,may be provided in the side wall ofthe chamber A. Such an inlet would include an inlet. collar lfi secured in the tank wall C to the water level (top of partition '22) and the tank below, up to the water level, with salt water; thus there is always present in the treaters two bodies of water and these bodies are maintained by additional water separated from. the well stream. After the operation is started the water level; or oil-water interface in chamber B will lower somewhat, since there will be a layer of emulsified oil floating upon the body of water, due to the fact that the collective area of the chamber C is many times greater than the crosssectional areas of the inlet and outlet elements I;:an d 2,6. As has been pointed out, no attempt in made to separately take on water from the ehaniber C and therefore, all of the liquids which are introduced into saidchamber overflow into the vflume 26 and are carried downwardly by the pipe 34t the settling chamber. Owing to the area of the collection chamber C, and some heat- 7 in}; of the liquids therein, because of the heat below the bottom M, some emulsion breaking or precipitation of water will occur therein and this will'be enhanced-by the filter B.

It is pointed out that the provision for reducing is highly important. The influent s treaxnreacl ii-ng the inside preheater 6B in the zone E just above the heater 52 is thoroughly heated. Whent-he oil is heated its viscosityis lowered so. that/it releases as and at the same 10 time water is released froin the; emulslcn." The composite stream which idconducted bythe pipe or leg 59 and pipe Hi, from the inside preheater to the nozzle I5, is discharged into the'chamber A, The released gas immediately passes to the upper. portion ofthe chamber and escapes into h rub er 28, w e eby it s carrie of T i isvery important, because. otherwisajsuch gas rema nns emu ed Q 'miXe wi h he 9 we l produce. an excessive amount offoam and conseiuen the f am 0. in a t mpt to pass ow the pipe 34 would not have sufiicient specific a it to, fl w d w the s e or ion of sai pi e d harge t e fr m, an hen, ,fl

tam nates oi wil be or rv-la s H. creased during transit of the liquids iron} the neta e l5 o th lume nv e se wh enters-the; chamber'A with the Well str m will now upw d nd colle he upp r p e hamb r A; an u o h pr heat. the influent in the cham er F, such influent will have its temperature raised to. the/point he s me a inv the luti n in uspensio will be released, and suchreleased gaswill, flow up and enter the scrubber 28 with the pther gas. h 'e er ion w ll r u n m imiz ng f am n of the .oil and the liquids will be leit. more quiescent when the gas is extracted, Theufilter plays an important "role in releasing gas which passes upwardly and escapes into. the'lcharnher A above the liquid level of the chamber C. A thin stratum of oil will float on the. bodycof liquids at the. overflow level and oil-gas boidies not broken by the filter will, to a large extent, 1

be distorted; and broken in passing through said i As above pointed out, the water-to-oil ratio having been more or less stepped up in the chamber-Q, the free water, when discharged into the settling chambil? D; will tend to immediately new to the bottom thereof or spread out across the tank below the-- partitio 5 n de ce d- .As the .oil, mustrnew' he Pi e 35 tress. t ank; to the baflle as. i wi lnet s ead. bu will stratify under said partition as hereinbeiore pointed out; Substantially all of the free. water willsettle in the chamber D below the partition 35- and varying quantities of water will be precipitated iromthe oil stratified under said partition. I-his will materially reduce the overall quantity of liquid v which would otherwise enter the bottom of the washing chamber and hus the h at-lead will be dec s d; lsol th wil be s me mulsion breakin in he .qlla ll r D- As heretofore pointed out, it is, essential that the partition 35 be imperforate. as wel as ample to giye sufficient spread totheernulsified. oil. If the partition was perforated,- then the .oil would flow up through such perforations and the benefit of precipitating water would be lost. 11 ad t e is had bv s imm neqfi t e a of lowest wa er con e t rom the. bhamb r .D ds is ins th s cl anes .011 to w in chamberhe nve tien has the 9 that? st e emu sion treat es war nates near the top I l.

' 11 tank since such breaking occurs to some degree in each of the chambers C, D and E.

In the operation of the unit, more or less heat will be evolved in the upper portion thereof. Where the influent liquids are preheated, the temperature of the body of liquids in chamber C may be relatively high or such heating of the liquids may occur, through heat exchange, with the heat arising from the liquids below the partition I4; also the well stream itself may have a relatively high temperature. Consequently, the liquids, flowing down the pipe 24. may have been more or less heated; however, regardless of such preheating, a certain amount of heating may occur by heat exchange with the heated water overflowing into the channel 5!, as well as because of the close proximity of the heated body of water in the chamber E. While an appreciable amount of heating of the liquids ilowing down the pipe 34 may occur, it is obvious than an increase in the cross-sectional area of this conductor will reflect an increase in the amount of heating and thus, more or less dehydration may accompany the downward ilow of the oil.

In Figs. '7 and 8 we have shown a slightly modified form of the invention wherein the down pipe 34 is omitted. The wall H is continued upwardly to the top of the collection chamber C to form an overflow wall 22, taking the place of the partition 22. The opening it in the partition it, through which the pipe 3% originally extended. is made rectangular and extends from the wall 4! to the tank wall. A pair of narrow vertical plates 8| have their upper ends secured in the opening M. These plates extend down between the wall M and the tank through the channel 5| to the partition 35 to form with the tank wall and the wall 4!, a down flue 82. Enough of the wall M is used to form the bottom of the flue, the remainder of the lower edge of the wall 4| being left spaced from the partition to permit water overflowing from the partition 6! into the channel 5! to enter the chamber E. The hole 35' through which the pipe 3 originally extended is made rectangular to receive the lower endof the flue. By this arrangement heat exchange between the down-fiowing liquids and the heated body of waterin the chamber may be obtained through the single wall M.

In Fig. 9 an arrangement is shown to raise the level of the hot clean oil so as to cause it to contact with the bottom of the partition M, thereby setting a heat exchange relation with the collected liquids in the chamber C and preheating such liquids. The skimming box 59 and the oil outlet Ill are omitted and an upset 83 is formed in the partition 14 adjacent the tank wall. An oil outlet elbow 84 secured in the tank wall has its upper end extending into the onset, whereby the oil level is raised.

It will be observed that a vertical pipe 8% extends through the chamber bottom it and termi- This pipe serves two purposes, one to permit gas flows to equalize pressures above and below the bottom 14 and second, to

allow some of the hot gasses to flow up into the chamber A and commingle with the cooler gasses therein, whereby condensates from the hot gasses fall into the liquids in chamber C. Some heating of the liquids in the chamber C may thus be accomplished. Further, cooler gasses will in 7 some instances flow down the pipe 86 and commingle with the gasses or vapors rising from the flowing all of heated oil. Usually the partition I i will be relatively cooler than the vapors rising from the hot oil therebelow and such vapors contacting said partition are subjected to condensation, whereby the condensates are precipitated to the oil, thus preserving its gravity.

The terms clean, cleaned and .cleanest as used herein have relatively different meanings. Clean oil as such is intended to designate oil which has been treated to the point where it would be accepted in the industry as clean oil. The term cleaned is used to designate oil which has gone through one or more cleaning or dehydrating steps. The cleanest oil is relative in that it is the cleanest oil obtainable at a given stage in the method.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The method of treating oil-gas-water well streams which includes, conducting the stream and discharging it into a body of previously collected liquids, liberating and carrying ofi gas, overflowing contaminated oil and free water to a confined area, then settling free water in said area and stratifying the contaminated oil in said area and precipitating water therefrom, conducting cleaned oil from said area, washing said oil in a body of heated water, collecting the washed and heated oil upon said body of heated water in heat exchange relation with the first collected body of liquids to heat said collected body of liquids.

2. The method of treating oil-gas-water well streams which includes, accumulating in a body oil and water downwardly into a confined area containing a body of heated water and therein settling out free water and spreading the contaminated oil in said body of heated water to precipitate water from the oil, stratifying the contaminated oil according to its water content, then flowing oii partially cleaned oil, and then washing said oil in said body of heated water.

3. The method of treating emulsified oil Well streams which includes, conducting the stream and discharging it into a body of liquids, flowing the components of the stream through said body of liquids and partially breaking down the emulsion, whereby the ratio of free water to emulsified oil is increased, liberating and carrying on gas, the emulsified oil and free water discharged into said body of liquids and discharging said oil and water downwardly into a body of heated water, interrupting the flow of said emulsified oil and free water in said body of heated'water to cause free water to settle and the emulsified oil to be spread into a stratum and heated, whereby water is precipitated from the emulsified oil, flowing ofi from said stratum oil, and then washing the oil in said body of heated water. I

4. In combination in an oil-gas-water stream treater, a tank having a well stream inlet at its upper end, a collection chamber in the upper end of the tank receiving the liquid components of the well stream, means for-carrying off gas from asth i1 3 theeupperend of;rthe;:tank; a; se tlin hamber-i .thelower end of the. tame an. o r-flow ond cto .lead-ingfmm the ccllect oh cha e t one de of: thesettling c mber, a; Washi chamb r above the settling chamber, animperforate parti ,5,-.The methodcf; treatin o lesase r' streams whichincludes. accumul t n in a o y a: quantity of the well stream.and'liberatinggas from :the contaminated ,o l, .Iiow hs a l of the inputifree Water, andcontami ated .111 .imm he accumulated body to aconfinedhhdy of. wa m water; settling the; free; water from saidnflow,

temporarily. trappin the contam nated o l, in.v a

stratum; and precipitating water therefrom, and then washingsaid; oilin said-body or Warm. wate di The method: cfjtreating oil gaswater well streams. which includes, preheating the well streamaccumulating in a body a quantity of the wellstream and liberating gas from the contaminaxted oil, flowing all of the input free water and contaminated-oilffrom the accumulated body to. a

confined body of warm Water, "settling the free water :from said-flow, temporarily trapping the contaminated oil-in a stratum and precipitating Water." therefrom, and then Washin saidoil in said'body ofwarm water.

'7 .:The. method of; treatingarr .oilrgas-water well streamwhichincludes, discharging a, well .streamrinto a; body of previously. confined liquids, flowing the .componentsof saidistream upwardly through said-xbody of liquids while. obstructing such flow :to. liberate gas and minimize. foaming, overflowing all Qf'theoil and water components discharged by said stream from;.said body of :liquids anddischargin said; components at one side of: a. settling area andtherein settlingv out .freewater. in a body of :heated water, subse- Iquently Washing the oil in an area in said body of heated water above said settling area to further separate water from the. oil,..and collecting the washed 'oil.

8'. The methdas seti-forthiin claim '7; with the step. of preheating the .components of the stream. 9. .The method set forth in claim ,7, with; the stepiofjspreading and stratifying in the body of heatedwater the contaminat.ed oil flowing from said. body of liquids and precipitating water therefromafter settlingroutiree .water and: prior st p of f owing the components of the stream through theheated body-.ofwater;in-a-;segregated p th to preheat th same.

. 12, The method set forth in claimfl, with the steps of collecting the dehydrated oil in a body and condensing the vapors rising therefrom by heat exchange with the inputcomponents of the w.ell- -stream.

133. The rmethodset forth in ;claim,'7, with the step of coalescingwater entrained in the oil in.

the previously collected body of liquids.

14. The method of treating an oil-gas-water stream-which includes, discharging-.awell stream finto a body of previouslyacollected liquids in a ,.co niin'e.d area, fiow sth well stream orona,

th qhshrsaid not a ea-a oi. th eHr re .th reinta cond c n he o erfl win .11 an wa er-thr h Si le d of h at d ate @011- din a settli ea anda Washin rea estt i sq utfree ,waterin the settling area, rn no ar lv trap n the oil b t een th is ih d We s: reas and strat fying said 9 1 in i hoov r hea ed Wat to use a d t na Water tor ettle out of the owin t a p d. Oil to h washinaarea and here as i g the 011.11 S i bo y of heat d. wa er c'se a ewat r he efr-omg collectmg clean oil on saidbody of h ated set r eati he well s ream nr e t o the bod of co c ed li u chargingit l6; .lihe method set o th n clai with the stepofzconducti ethe .we str am a se re ated paththrou h thebod of. heated. ter to. Preheatsaid str am prior to, dischar in 1 1.1 9.: th body of colle ted liq ids..- 1;?- The methodset rorthin c im it Withthe step of obstructin the z ow ofthe ell stream quids thr u h h dy of collect d liqu ds to liberategas and minimize foaming.

18. The method set forth in claim 14, with the step of obstructing the upward flow of the oil through the body of heatedv Water to break up oil globules and release water.

19. An emulsion treater including, anlupright tank closed at its top andbottom, a partition across the .upper portion ofthe tankdcfining a liquid collecting chamberthereaboye, an over.- flow member above the partition at one sideof the collecting chamber, an imperforate partition acrossv the. lower portion ofnthetank dividing the tank into a settling chamber and a'washing chamber, a conductor leading down from the overflow memberthrough. the lower partition at one siderthereof, said. lower partition.terminating short of one sideof the tankto provide'a single restrictedfiovv passage between the settling andwashing. chambers, meansbelow the lower partition for-temporarily trapping a stratum of oil in contact with said partition, a heater in the.

washing chamber above the lower partition, and means for maintaining a body of Water in the settling and Washing chambers and for discharging separated water from thesettling chamber, and means forma'intaining an oil level'above the water level. V

20. An emulsiontreater asset forth in claim 19, with an intermediate partition across the tank at the upper end of the washing chamber, and a tubular preheater across the tank above the intermediate partition below the water level.

21. An-emulsion treater as set forth in claim 19, with staggered transverse partitions below the lowerpartition, andan-upright wallat one side of'the lower and staggered partitionsforming a water conductor from the washing chamber to the bottom of, the settling chamber. 7

22. The method of treating voil-gas-'.vv a.ter. well streams which includes, discharging the well stream intoa body of previously collected liquids,

flowing components .of said stream-through said body to liberate gas, overflowing the liquid coin- .noneh om said body in c o and dischargihssai disuid-comnonentsdntq a body o heat wate tm neside o a s ahdlett ih :Qhtthe ree-Wa er flow .s the...o an erse y throu h said.- bod o water dining-a time. la

s uflicient to precipitate water from the contaminated oil, then washing the oil in said body of heated water, and collecting the finally washed oil.

23. An oil-gas-water well stream treater including, an upright tank, an upper liquid collecting chamber at the upper end of the tank for holding a body of liquids, means for discharging a contaminated oil well stream into the chamber, means in the chamber in the collected liquids above the well stream inlet for liberating gas, means for overflowing from the chamber the entire volume of the liquid input from the well stream while maintaining a body of liquids in said chamber, a conductor leading from the overflow means for conducting overflowing liquids to the lower end of the tank and discharging said "liquids downwardly into said tank, means for maintaining a body of water in the tank below said chamber into the lower portion of which said conductor discharges, whereby free water settles out in the lower portion of said tank, a heater in the tank for heating the body of water, imperforate means below the heater for directing and spreading the oil discharged from the conductor in a common path toward the opposite collection chamber above said partition, there being a gas space above the collection chamber, a liquid conductor leading from the collection chamber to the lower portion of the tank, a spreading partition across the lower portion of the tank, said conductor having its discharge immediately below said spreading partition at one side of the tank, a member depending from the spreading partition across the tank from the conductor, whereby contaminated oil discharged under the spreading partition is spread and stratified thereunder and free water is directed downwardly below said spreading partition and also whereby water is precipitated from said spread oil, a heater in the tank above the spreading partition, a water discharge leading from the tank having means for maintaining a water level in the tank above the spreading partition, whereby a body of water is held in the tank and in which body of water at least a portion of the heater is immersed, a passage from the depending member to the tank above the spreading partition, and an oil outlet leading from the tank above the water level.

25. The combination set forth in claim 24, with a well stream preheater in the tank below the oil outlet having a well stream inlet and an outlet conductor connected with the inlet at the upper portion of the tank.

26. The combination set forth in claim 24, and

gas scrubbing means in the gas space at the top of the tank.

27. The combination set forth in claim 24, and a transverse filter in the collection chamber above the well stream inlet and below the inlet to the conductor.

28. The combination set forth in claim 24, wherein transverse bafiles are disposed in the tank above the heater, filtering material between the *bafiies, said baffles having staggered openings, whereby upwardly moving oil is caused to take a 16 circuitous path through the filtering material, and a preheater in the tank between the heater and the bafiles havinga well stream inlet and an outlet conductor connected with the inlet to the collection chamber.

29. The combination set forth in claim 24, wherein the well stream inlet is located in the upright wall of the tank above and spaced across the tank from the liquid conductor, and a diverter at the said inlet for directing the well stream fluid circumferentially in the tank.

30. In combination in an emulsified oil-gaswater stream treater, an upright tank, a cross partition in the upper portion of the tank,'an upright overflow partition rising from the cross partition co-acting with the wall of the tank to form an overflow flume, the cross and overflow partitions co-acting with the wall of the tank to form a liquid collection ,chamber, a liquid inlet in the collection chamber having means for dispersing liquids in said chamber, there being a gas space in the tank above the overflow partition, an imperforate partition extending transversely across the lower portion of the tank, whereby a washing chamber is formed thereabove, means maintaining a body of water in the tank with a level above said transverse partition, a heater in said body of water above said transverse partition, a liquid conductor leading from the flume at the upper end of the tank and discharging at one side of the tank below said transverse partition, Whereby the oil is caused to flow and spread across the tank, trapping means at the opposite side of the tank from the conductor for holding a stratum of oil under said transverse partition, whereby water may be precipitated therefrom, a conductor from the trapping means to the washing chamber, an oil outlet from the tank above the level of the water level, and means for carrying off separated water from the tank.

31. The combination set forth in claim 30, and a preheater in the tank immersed in liquid below the cross partition and having an outside liquid inlet and an outlet conductor connected with the inlet in the collection chamber.

32. In combination an oil-gas-water well stream treater, a tank having a stream inlet at its upper end, a collection chamber in the upper end of the tank receiving the liquids of the well stream, means for carrying off gas from the collection chamber, a settling chamber in the lower end of the tank, a conductor leading from the collection chamber to the settling chamber, a transverse heater in the tank above the settling chamber, a washing chamber in the tank extending above the heater, a preheater above the heater disposed across the tank having an influent inlet from the exterior of the tank, a conductor from the preheater to the stream inlet at the upper end of the tank, an oil outlet from the tank below the bottom of the collection chamber, and a water outlet from the tank.

33. The combination set forth in claim 32, with a filter across the tank above the heater and below the oil level.

34. In combination in an emulsified oil-gaswater stream treater, a tank, a gas and liquid separating chamber in the tank, a water outlet from the tank, a washing chamber in the tank separate from the separating chamber and constructed to contain a body of heated water, means for maintaining a water level in the tank, an oil outlet from the tank, a main heater in the washing chamber, an inflent emulsion heat exchange conductor in the washing chamber and 17 in the heat zone of the heater, said heat exchange conductor having an elongated passage and having a large expanse of heat transfer area exposed to the washing chamber and being in direct heat exchange relationship with the heated water insaid washing chamber, an emulsion inlet to the'heat exchange conductor, an emulsion outlet from the heat exchange conductor, a con ductor extending from the outlet of the heat exchange conductor to the separating chamber, and an emulsion conductor leading from the separating chamber to the washing chamber.

35. In combination in an emulsified oil-gaswater stream treater, a tank, a gas and liquid separating chamber in the upper portion of the tank, a main heater in the tank spaced below the chamber, a washing chamber in the tank below the separating chamber and constructed to contain a body of heated water, the main heater being constructed to be immersed in the body of water in the washing chamber, a water outlet from the tank, means for maintaining a water level in the washing chamber, an oil outlet from the tank above the water level, an infiuent emulsion heat exchange conductor in the washing chamber above the main heater and below the oil outlet, said heating conductor having an elongated passage and a large expanse of heat transfer area exposed to the body of heated water and being in direct heat exchange relationship with the water in said washing chamber, an infiuent conductor to the heat exchange conductor for admitting a foamy oil thereto whereby gas is released and foaming is reduced, a conductor for the gas and liquid stream from the heat exchange conductor to the separating chamber, a gas escape from the separating chamber for carrying off the gas released by the heat exchange conductor and also gas released in the separating chamber, and a conductor extending from the separating chamber and discharging into the washing chamber for delivering gasfree liquids into the water heated by the main heater, whereby overloading the separating chamber, a water outlet from the tank, an oil outlet from the tank, a gas outlet from the washing chamber, a heater in the washing chamber below the water level, an infiuent emulsion heat exchange conductor in the washing chamber and in the heat zone of the heater, the heat exchange conductor having an elongated flow passage and a large expanse of heat transfer area exposed to.

the body of heated water, said heat exchange conductor being disposed below the water level in direct heat exchange relationship with the heated water in said washing chamber, an emulsion inlet to the heat exchange conductor, an emulsion outlet from the heat exchange conductor, a conductor extending from the outlet of the heat exchange conductor to the separating chamber, and an emulsion conductor from the separating chamber to the washing chamber.

JAY P. WALKER.

CLARENCE O. GLASGOW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,181,686 Walker Nov. 28, 1939 2,181,687 Walker Nov. 28, 1939 2,297,297 Walker Sept. 29, 1942 2,354,856 Erwin Aug. 1, 1944 2,366,302 Welch Jan. 2, 1945 2,384,222 Walker Sept. 4, 1945 2,457,959 Walker Jan. 4, 1949 

